This month’s 5 tips for Pianist magazine’s newsletter focuses on the issue of moving quickly around the instrument. I hope it’s usefui. Moving quickly and accurately can be tricky. Especially if fast passage work is involved. There are many ways to alleviate this conundrum, but one which can be really beneficial is octave displacement. Yes,…
Tag: Pianist Magazine
5 Stage Presentation Tips Part 2
My most recent article for Pianist Magazine’s newsletter features the art of stage presentation. This often forgotten topic is rarely highlighted, yet it plays a significant role in every performance. This is the second of two articles on this subject, and you can read the first one, here. In my previous article on stage presentation,…
Etude Op. 97 No 1 by Anton Reicha
Some readers will know that I write a regular ‘how-to-play’ article for Pianist magazine. If you’ve yet to discover this magazine, you can find out much more by clicking here. My article focuses on elementary level pieces for students of around Grade 1 – 3 level. It’s actually called a ‘beginners how-to-play’, but in reality…
5 Tips to Create the Illusion of Legato
Every pianist knows the importance of legato, or the creation of a smooth musical line or phrase, notes joining evenly from one to the next. But there are many instances in piano music where we can’t join the notes: the melodic line might leap beyond our comfortable stretch, for example. How do we overcome this…
5 tips to quell a sustaining pedal addiction
It’s a common tendency for students to rely too much on the sustaining (or right) pedal; whether aiming to create smooth legato lines or add resonance, the pedal can have an intoxicating effect. We use a little, and then before we know it, every bar is drenched! The article below is one I wrote for…
Favourable Fingering
This month’s topic for Pianist Magazine’s newsletter is a perennial favourite: fingering. Do you write your fingering into the score before you start learning your piece? Or do you let your fingers roam wherever they feel comfortable? Here are a few ideas which I hope might be useful. Fingering is a perpetual hot topic and…
5 Top Tips for Keeping Time
My column for the latest bi-monthly newsletter for Pianist Magazine offers tips and suggestions for how to keep a rhythmic pulse. Keeping time (or playing rhythmically) can be a challenge for many, and particularly for pianists, as they are often playing alone and therefore have the opportunity to change the tempo as often as they…
5 Tips for Practising without the Piano
I regularly contribute to Pianist magazine’s newsletter, which wings its way into our inbox every other month. My article always takes the form of ‘5 tips’. Last month’s tips were designed for those who fancy taking their practice away from the instrument. I hope they are of interest. Practising away from the instrument can be…
5 Tips for the Perfect Practice Schedule
A practice schedule can lead to fruitful progress in your piano playing. This topic was the focus of my 5 tips for last month’s Pianist Magazine newsletter. One question asked by many a student; ‘how can I develop a practice schedule which will be both beneficial and practical.’ It’s too easy to sit down at…
5 Tips to Instantly Improve a Performance
If there’s a possibility to immediately improve any performance, most of us would jump at the chance. My latest contribution to Pianist magazine’s newsletter offers a few suggestions which can be easily implemented into your practice session. I hope you find them helpful. As a teacher, I’m often asked how to instantaneously improve a performance….
5 Top Tips to Aid Memorisation
Pianist Magazine produces a newsletter which wings its way into a reader’s e mail box every other month. It’s brimming with piano news and information, as well as a few articles. I write a regular ‘Piano Tips’ feature, and today’s post presents the most recent, which focuses on memorisation. Memorisation is a hotly debated topic…
Improve Your Sight-Reading Skills: 5 Top Tips
My latest article for Pianist Magazine’s New Year’s newsletter focuses on sight-reading. I’ve written about this subject many times, but it’s an important topic for pianists, and is often ignored or sidestepped in piano lessons until absolutely necessary, that is, just prior to an exam or audition, when testing is unavoidable. Few pianists are keen…